Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The concept of part-time underemployment is based on ILO and EUROSTAT definitions and includes job holders who are working part time, willing to work additional hours and available to work additional hours. The level of part-time underemployment in Ireland has been falling steadily from its peak in the second quarter of 2012 when it stood at 157,000 or 8.5% of total employment and now stands at 115,500, the lowest level since 2010 or 6% of total employment.

The Government’s An Action Plan for Jobs, launched in 2012, has successfully tackled underemployment by fostering a substantial increase in full-time employment. The latest quarterly national household survey figures show that, for the year to the end of quarter four of 2014, the numbers of people in employment increased by 29,100, which was represented by an increase in full-time employment of 39,600 and a decrease in part-time employment of 10,500. Almost 90,000 more people are at work since the launch of the first plan in 2012. All of the increase in employment in the past two years has been in the number of full-time jobs. The Government has given detailed reports on the implementation of the plan from its initiation on an ongoing quarterly basis. Over 1,000 actions have been completed, with an implementation rate of over 90%. We continue to concentrate on getting more people into work and additionally are increasing the emphasis on regional jobs with the launch of the regional action plan for jobs.

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